The National Coalition for History is asking you to email letters to your U.S. Senators as soon as possible urging them to save the Teaching American History (TAH) Grants Program and Civic Education funding (through competitive grants).
The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives today brought to the floor a massive continuing resolution (H.R. 1) that would fund the federal government for the remainder of FY ’11. Agencies and programs important to the history and archival communities, such as Teaching American History Grants, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and others would see their funding slashed or eliminated.
The President’s fiscal year 2012 budget request for the Department of Education once again eliminates Teaching American History grants (TAH) as a separately funded program. As it did in FY ’11 the Administration proposed consolidating history education into a new program called Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well-Rounded Education. However, TAH faces a more immediate threat. All $119 million in current year funding for TAH would be cut in the FY ’11 continuing resolution under consideration on the House floor.
On February 14, President Obama sent to Congress a proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget request that calls for $422.5 million for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The amount represents an 8.2 percent decrease from the FY 2011 President’s Budget request of $460.2 million.
On February 14, President Obama asked Congress for $146.2 million to fund the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for fiscal year (FY) 2012, a $21.3 million cut from the FY 10 appropriated level of $167.5 million.
On February 14, President Obama submitted to Congress his proposed fiscal year 2012 budget for the National Park Service. History-related programs were particularly hard hit with the proposed elimination of two preservation programs (Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America) and a 50 percent cut in Heritage Partnership programs.
President Obama has requested $242.6 million in fiscal year 2012 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This is a $40 million cut from the $282.2 million the agency received in FY ’10. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
On February 14, the Administration released the proposed fiscal year 2012 budget for the National Intelligence Program (NIP). NIP would receive $55 billion in FY ’12 versus $53.1 billion in FY ’10. The NIP includes funding for most of the non-military spy agencies and is not subject to the President’s freeze on non-security discretionary spending.
The Administration’s FY 2012 budget request to Congress for the Smithsonian is $861.5 million, an increase from the $761.1 million appropriated to the Institution in fiscal year 2010. The Salaries and Expenses request for FY 2012 is $636.5 million (nearly the same as 2010) and the Facilities Capital budget is $225 million, which includes $125 million for the construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Recently, Archivist of the United States David Ferriero marked his first year in office and many of the initiatives he began since taking the helm are starting to bear fruit. Last summer, Ferriero created a staff task force to draft a plan for the “transformation” of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Ferriero recently unveiled Charting the Course, the reorganization plan for “reinventing” the National Archives.